Naraku's mate
by InuLuna19
Summary: Love is a curse, it leaves you alone and turns you into a monster. It never chooses to take the easiest path, but the most treacherous. Love does not last forever, it ends and it ends far too soon for anyone's liking. The curse of life is love, how I wish I never felt its cold grasp.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but I am working it. Until then I can create story lines that make sense or are completely insane and off kilter while borrowing the characters. This is fan fiction, my fan fiction.

Naraku's Mate

It was dusk in feudal Japan, where demons lurked and spiritualists protected the human race. There were wars of human lords and then there was a battle between the seekers of a jewel that held immense power. In this time love is not meant to be found, but love never uses the easiest path. I know this all too well. Love is a curse that consumes you. It is your greatest strength and greatest weakness, after all, my human half gave his soul for a woman; a weak human woman no less. Now she still haunts that side of me even though she is but clay and bones and has a heart that is more frigid than when she was alive. I do not understand these human emotions such as lust, love and jealousy. To me they make no sense, I am, after all, a demon. Demons mate to further their species and no other reason. I have no mate, nor do I want one or would ever have one. That is until I met her, the foreign witch, with power that I had not experienced ever before. I was drawn to her and before I realized, I was caught and was unable to escape from her unknowing grasp. Love is a curse; it leaves you alone and turns you into a monster. It never chooses to take the easiest path, but the most treacherous. Love does not last forever, it ends and it ends far too soon for anyone's liking. The curse of life is love, how I wish I never felt its cold grasp.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Violet Eyes

The forest was dark and quiet, the creatures of the forest were hiding from the evil presence that walked liesurely through it. It was hoping to find some 'entertainment' that would be dumb enough to cross its path. The evil was a demon who had long wavy, ink black hair tied in a half ponytail, which allowed it to fall over his shoulders. His eyes were an eerie blood red color, which marked him as a demon. He was tall and covered his body with the colorful purple robes of a young lord. In his hand he held a large black jewel which was almost a complete sphere. He squeezed it in his hand as he cursed the jewel for not granting his wish. He cursed the group of misfits that hunted after the rest of jewel and himself. He cursed the half of him that lusted after an undead human miko. He knew he had to become stronger in order to fulfill his wish and complete the jewel. He then sensed a group of humans heading in his direction. He was uninterested, for they were too easy to kill and died far too easily. He had wished that they were demons who he could use for entertainment or for strength. He turned to walk away when he heard a scream of a female. His face contorted into a cruel smile. He may not be the one to deal the pain, but he could still taint the jewel with the unclean acts of the humans. Not only that, but he could enjoy the pain of another without getting his own hands soiled. He walked gracefully through the forest until he was almost within seeing distance of the small group of humans. Then he felt the jewel pulse, he looked down as it changed in color. The jewel no longer glowed black, but a light blue color. It was neither dark and evil or pure and harmless. It was filled with a power and strength that was different from anything that he had ever experienced before. The power felt calm, yet at the same time strong and ready to break down any barrier. He wondered where this new power came from, but he knew he had to have it. As he reached where the humans he found that there were five men, at least, and a woman at the center. They were beating her and whipping her. Her cloak covered her entire body and face, but it was quickly being torn to pieces. She screamed for them to stop, but they only increased their actions upon the poor girl. Then they stopped and her wimpering could be heard as the men drew closer to her. They ripped off her cloak to reveal a blodied and bruised woman. She was dirty and bloody, but her hair could still be seen to have a golden sheen and her large eyes were a vibrant and mysterious violet color. Her skin was pale in contrast with her wounds and the dirt on her body. He heard the men taunting her and the ripping of her cloths, "Damn foreign witch! You will pay for what you did! How dare you turn down the headman and then curse our village! You will Pay!" Soon she was laying on the ground naked, except for a string around her neck, as they tied her arms together and hung her from a tree branch. The branch was just high enough off the ground where her feet couldn't touch. The demon watched the scene and wondered who the monster in this scenario really was, him or the humans. He watched as they flogged her already raw and bloodied skin. They then beat her more by punching her in the gut, side and the face. She fell unconscious as the beatings continued on her battered body. The demon looked down at the jewel as the blue glow and strainge power faded back to the black evilness that was the tainted jewel. He now knew who the power belonged to, and he needed her alive. He walked out of the darkness of the trees and struck down the humans harming his prize mercilessly. He then disappeared with the girl in a cloud of miasma and left the rotting dead corpses of the five village men.

Everything was dark and I was running, running from the pain, from the future, from the past, from the present , … from myself and who I am. I hear the voices of the people who I met, was tortured by, violated and traded. 'Witch!... Golden haired demon!...Violet Murderer! Disgusting Foreign Devil!' they would all say and yell at me for just being alive, then they would try to kill me. Yet no matter what happens I always manage to come back, come back to this pitiful life that I lead. I am cursed to live… until the day I die. The voices continue to repeat in the darkness and the pain grows until it is unbearable, but I do not want to wake up. I wish to die before _he_ does, before my curse does; because it will.

'I, Naraku, saved a human. How distasteful. I wonder how she would look lying upon the ground dead and torn.' Naraku thought as he gazed upon the woman in his arms. She was thin, almost unhealthily so, her hair color was in fact a pale gold color, which is the symbol of a demon and not a human, her skin was aldo very pale, but it had an almost olive tint to it. She had curves, signaling that she was not a girl but a woman, that were more exaggerated and full then many demons. If she lived she would be beautiful. Then he saw her aura. It was pure, like that of a miko, yet she her body was far from pure. The smell of men was almost overpowering as was the smell of dirt and grime, yet her scent was still distinguishable. (In my opinion all demons have heightened senses, but his nose is nothing like Inuyasha's, Naraku can only smell because he is holding her.) 'She smells of lilac, vanilla and rain. Pure yet she is tainted.' He thought as he neared his hidden castle. He reached the castle in his cloud of miasma and entered through the doors. He walked to a far wing in the back of the castle and entered a room, then tossed the girl onto the floor. She landed on the hard floor with a sickening thud. Yet she still did not move, it was as if she was dead. "Kanna" he called to the albino demon, "ensure that she survives. I wish to know more about her power." The child demon just nodded as she held her mirror while Naraku left to leave. "Her soul, it is etched with darkness", said Kanna in her airy voice. Naraku turned to look back at the unconscious girl; his face contorted into a malicious smirk, "Interesting." He said as he turned to leave. A few hours later and Kanna arrived in Naraku's chambers to tell him what she had found after the girl was taken care of. "Will she survive" asked Naraku in an uninterested manner. "That is unknown; she is fighting something, like she wants to die. She will live only if she chooses to." Kanna reported to her master. "Very well, do you know of her power or what she is?" Naraku asked as he stared at his puppet's wooden base, the body of said puppet was currently battling a group of misfits that were after the jewel and his life. "No, her power is foreign, but she is in fact human. With her injuries she had sustained she may not survive the night. Naraku, she is very powerful and dangerous." Kanna said as she turned to leave her master. Naraku pondered over the words of his incarnation as he watched his puppet be sliced in two, signaling it had been slain. 'If she was powerful, why did she not fight back? Why would one want death?' he thought to himself while glaring at his fallen puppet. Just then a blood curdling scream resounded from deep inside the castle. It echoed down the empty halls and made hairs stand on end of all the inhabitants in the castle. It was a scream of utterly terrifying, soul shattering pain that you would hope to never hear, not even from your enemy. It was a scream of someone being ripped from the place where they want to truly be, of one being forced to live a life unwanted. It was her scream; the scream of the witch with the violet eyes.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Hell

The scream that echoed through the halls had yet to stop until the violet eyed girl had gasp for breath. When Naraku entered the room where she laid he noticed her aura was laced in darkness and her scent had changed to smell of metal and ichor. She smelled of a demon from hell. Her eyes were open, but instead of her mysterious violet eyes they were black. Each was completely black; they were darker than the tainted jewel had ever been. Even darker than his very soul; they looked as if they were portals to hell itself. Then he noticed the blood. There was a trail of the bright red liquid coming from the corner of her mouth and dripping from her chin. She was crying tears of bright red blood staining her pale cheeks, which were now clean. She was screaming, but she looked like death itself had possessed her body. This sight sent shivers down Naraku's spine, 'she is fighting that, to die. The darkness in her soul will not allow her fade away to the netherworld.' He thought in fear as he watched her aura become darker and her tears continue down her face. Suddenly she had stopped screaming and everything grew quiet. He watched her as the darkness around her grew and grew, then all of a sudden it shrank back to her body then her aura exploded back out in a powerful burst. The blast knocked Naraku to the floor and Kanna, who had been silently observing, to the wall. When Naraku looked back to the girl her aura glowed dark blue and vibrant silver. 'So she lost the battle within herself. She is alive' he thought as he walked to her side, 'and powerful.' He smiled evilly at that thought. 'She could be of use'. He gazed upon her unconscious form lying on the floor. Kanna had done as she was told well. Her torso was bandaged with white wrappings turning pink in areas due to reopened wounds from her earlier ordeal. Her bandages covered her shoulders and were wrapped below the sheet that was placed over her, otherwise, naked body. He knew below the sheet her body was heavily bandaged as well. She laid on the floor breathing slightly labored; her chest rising and falling with each breath. Her skin was slick with a fine sheen of sweat. The thin layer made her skin glisten in the moonlight, which entered through the now broken shade of the window. Her hair was splayed around her head framing it in a golden halo as her wavy hair lay across the pillow. Her long bangs clung to her face in gold wavy lines. She looked like a sleeping angel. "Ironic, an angel came to hell" he said out loud as he knelt down closer to her. 'An angel, pure and untouchable' He thought as he reached his hand down and brushed her long bangs to the side of her face. His fingers brushed against her cheek, feeling her soft pale skin beneath his fingers. As he was removing his hand hers shot up and grabbed his hand. Her sharp black nails dug into his flesh allowing red blood to spring forth beneath their grasp. Then she sank her sharp fangs into the palm of his hand. He felt rage as she bit him, 'Insolent bitch', he thought as he glared at her deciding to beat within an inch of her life or just kill her. As he raised his hand to beat her off of him her eyes shot open. He stopped mid-swing when he saw her eyes; her eyes were not the mystical violet that he had witnessed when he was in the forest, but the soulless blackness of a moment earlier. He stared into her eyes as images and sounds filled his mind, while their blood mixed. He saw fires and heard the screams of children and mothers burning alive. He saw fields that once were full of flowers and life and were now ashes and fire. Everything was burning and dying, and then he saw the outline of a woman holding a bloodied corpse with tears streaming down her face as she stared at a large shadow in front of her. Then she was consumed by thorns and everything was turned black. There was nothing, but the cries and screams of women and children. He was slowly brought back to the present as he stared into her slowly fading eyes. They faded back to their bright violet eyes as she released his hand and fell back to the floor, once again unconscious. He noticed that her blood and his slowly fell in a thin line from the side of her mouth where had fallen minutes before. The tear tracks of blood stained her otherwise flawless face. Again he was reminded of an angel, but she was human. A human with immense power and incredible power always comes with a price.

My face was warm from the sun that streamed through a window. It was a peaceful. I shot up off the floor I was lying on. A dull pain traveled all over my body and I looked down to see I was thoroughly bandaged. I had somehow been saved from the villagers and treated for my wounds. I knew better than to think I was safe, I had only changed masters. They most likely wanted their new 'toy' to be clean and strong, not dirty or broken. I looked around the room and saw the ornate paintings hanging on the wall; I was in the home of a lord or very wealthy man. I listened for anyone and looked for any attendants and I decided to enjoy the peacefulness that I was surrounded by, if only for a short time. A peaceful morning, it was a long time when I last had a peaceful morning. Actually it was when I was ten, in fact. The day before my life would become hell on Earth. I shuddered as I suppressed the memory of what happened to my family. After that day I was left alone with nothing but darkness to accompany me. The warmth of the sun on my face was deceiving; it was as if it was saying everything was alright. It was wrong. You know when they say Hell is hot and aflame. Well they are wrong; Hell can be cold, flaming, or just terrifyingly painful. I have been through so many Hells so many times I am surprised that I am still alive. Even when I should die I am brought back to the land of the living. I am stuck here in my own personal hell, life itself. All because of the curse that I did nothing to deserve, except be born. I stood up and realized that I was naked except for the wrappings around my body. I knew that I was completely healed; I was only stiff from the lack of moving my body. I must have been unconscious for a long time. I sighed and took the wrappings off of my body. As I was expecting there wasn't a scar on my body, except… for the one on my lower stomach. I can still remember the devilish black nails that tore through the flesh of my abdomen. They left a permanent scar that was a reminder I would never have a child of my own to hold. This was another Hell I had to endure. I was left barren at the age of ten. I was not even given a chance. I ran my fingers over the jagged, faded lines that were etched into my skin. I sighed and brought myself back to the sunlit morning that I had yet to enjoy. I stood in front of the broken window and stretched myself by arching my back and pulling my arms over my head. I finished stretching when a smooth, yet malicious voice spoke behind me, "You are awake, I see." I turned toward the voice to look into dark red eyes.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Again I do not own Inuyasha, but I do own my character.**

Chapter 3: Markings

I entered the room without alerting the strange woman to my presence and stood just inside of the room and watched her. As I stopped to stand inside of the room the last of her wrappings had fallen to the floor in a crumpled heap. I gazed at her body from head to toe. Her golden hair shone brightly in the fading sunlight, while the gentle waves in her hair flowed like a river of gold down her back, only to stop at her mid-thigh. Her hair was draped over her body so that it was hidden beneath its waves. Yet the curve of hips and her shoulders peeked from beneath her golden tresses. I grinned, 'If I do not need or am unable to obtain her power… her body will fill its place.' He could understand why she was no longer an innocent. Her body alone rivaled that of most youkai women and any human that he had seen. "You are awake, I see." I said to her while alerting her to my presence. She turned slightly to look at me with her now violet eyes. Her long hair tumbled from her shoulders to slightly cover her full chest. I scanned her body with my eyes; her violet eyes were unafraid, her full lips were parted slightly letting her breath escape unhindered, her somewhat broad shoulders and full chests all the way to her thin waist and wide hips. I smiled as a horrible thought crossed my mind, 'If I cannot attain her power, then her body will fill its place.' I sized her up again, from head to toe, when I noticed a strange marking on her wrist. It shimmered silver in the fading sunlight of the evening. At first glance it looked as if it was a silver bracelet, but it was etched into the skin of her wrist. It was a strange swirled marking with dots and lines surrounding it. I stared at the mark on her wrist wondering why it was there and what manner of marking it was. I had stared at the marking for a long while, before a slight discoloration on the side of her thigh caught my attention. It was not the olive color of her skin, but a pale pink. Its design was comprised of lines dots and curves that formed another unknown symbol. Again I was wondering what she was and whether she was human. I frowned in annoyance at my own inability to understand that which was standing in front of me. This woman is a mystery, one that I will unravel and then I will destroy her.

I watched his red eyes roam over my body, analyzing it. Analyzing my worth, beauty, markings and the uses for my body and power. When his eyes caught the marking on my left thigh, I had decided I had had enough of being analyzed by a stranger. I crouched down in a way such that my long hair would continue to cover my body. I picked up the pale sheet off of the ground and wrapped it around myself for some decency. After I wrapped the pale cloth snugly around my body I turned around to face the red eyes that bore holes through my flesh. He was staring at me with his dark red eyes filled with different emotions; curiosity, anger, malicious intent, and lust. At the thought of the latter emotions swirling in his eyes I had to suppress a shudder at the memories that were burned into my mind from many years past. "Why did you bring me here?" I asked the red eyed male standing in front of me. Male, he wasn't human, but he wasn't all demon either, he was somewhere in-between. I watched his eyes change from the multitude of emotions that clouded them to only one. Anger. Anger at the fact that I had the audacity to demand a reason for being here, for claiming that I had the right to speak. He looked as if he was planning to kill me, but that would only set me free, not become a punishment. Though he was ignorant of that fact, and I was not about to enlighten the angry Halfling in front of me. Far be it from to allow a demonic creature to cause an end to my life on this Earth. As I studied his face the emotion changed again, from anger to annoyance. "You do not fear me and would have me kill you", he rushed at with demonic speed and pinned me against a wall that was once across the room from me. Pinning me with one hand at my throat, while the other was pressing on my hip, holding me in place. He leaned his face to within a breaths distance of my own face. "Do not make demands of me girl. I can chose to break your neck or peel your skin from your bones slowly and painfully until you are screaming for me to let you go only to relent and then continue. Or…" he trailed off with a sadistic smile on his face that could have frightened a devil from hell. "I could take you like the whore you are." He leaned his face to the side and pressed his lips against my neck. He trailed his tongue from my collar bone to my earlobe. I shuddered as the memories from my past flashed before my eyes. I thought he hesitated for a moment, but that thought was erased as he tore the sheet from my body. I stood as still as I possibly could, waiting for an opening.

I grabbed her neck with my large hand, her neck was small and almost dainty in my grasp. Though she was sturdier and slightly taller than the human women which scattered the country, she was still small against my frame. The skin of her neck was smooth and soft beneath my hand, then I grabbed her hip and pushed her against the wall. I was still angered that this human would dare to demand anything from me. I lowered my face close enough for our breaths to mingle together. "Do not make demands of me girl." I seethed, "I can choose to break your neck or peel your skin from your bones…" I threatened her with pain that would be unbearable as I tightened my hands around her. Yet she still did not flinch. I gazed at her briefly, the sheet she wore as make-shift clothes was thin and did little to hide her foreign and exotic body. Her soft skin was warm beneath the sheet and my hand, she was alive, very alive. The olive tint to her skin had given her a natural tan that would never fade. As I gazed at her an idea was planted in my mind, "Or… I could take you like the whore you are." I finished as I bent my head down to brush my lips against her neck. I felt her shudder as I ran my tongue from the base of her neck to the bottom of her earlobe, but for a second I thought I heard the scream of a terrified and pained child. It sent chills down even my spine. I brushed it off as the wind blowing. To cover my hesitation I ripped the sheet from her body. I was going to scare her, but I would not stoop so low as to do what others had scarred her with, I wanted to see her frightened face and hear her scream. I know how powerful of a weapon memories are, and all I had to do was trigger them. My hand trailed from her bare hip to her flat stomach, where I could feel the muscles flex beneath my touch. Then I felt the ridges and grooves on her lower stomach. Her skin which seemed perfect, was scared deeply. There were five long scars that ran from one hip to the other on a slight angle. As my tongue had made its way back to her collar, where I continued down her to her shoulder until I could feel another indentation in the skin beneath my tongue. I looked at the mark that started from her shoulder and ended at the elbow joint. It was a dark blue, but faded as it trailed down her arm. The design was cross like, with a long pointed vertical line intersected by a short horizontal line towards the top of the shoulder. It was surrounded by swirls, dots and lines, while two white lines wrapped the blue line to the base of the short one. Then I realized what the marking was. It was a sword.

AN: let me know what you think the girl/woman is supposed to be: Mage, witch, shaman or something else. She is not a miko though. Next chapter you get to find out her name.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but I do own 'insert characters name' and this story line.

In this chapter you will find out what her name is, and what she is. Again, if you are reading this for a happy ending, I can guarantee you that there will not be one. If you like the way I write and can keep up with the story I would really appreciate it. Please review! I can make it better if you leave constructive criticism!

By the way, there is a hint to the curse in this chapter...

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Chapter 4: Innocence

I waited for what seemed like an eternity, my muscles were tensing getting ready to fight or take flight as his large hands roamed my body. When he stopped to study the mark on my shoulder I knew that my chance of escape was at hand. He struggled to discern what the mark was and why it was there. As realization crossed his face the grip on my neck was loosened. 'Now' my mind practically screamed as I twisted out of his grip and elbowed him in the gut. My only thought was to get away from him, and his hands. The impact knocked him to the ground and allowed me to run to another place in the room. I spun around quickly just in time to see the furious Halfling charge at me from his spot on the floor. In less than a second I had a dagger pointed at his neck and the other at his chest. "I am No whore!" I told him through my clenched teeth. "I have not been taken since I could fend for myself, nor will I ever be taken again unless it is I who chooses to be." I stood my ground and kept my daggers in their place. "If I had to guess why I am here it would be for my power. You will not be able to obtain it using an impure method such as forcing yourself upon me. You will only obtain it if I deem you worthy and give it to you willingly. So calm yourself in order for us to make a deal." I said as I lowered my blades to my side and they returned to their original place as the pale pink markings in my skin. I watched the features of his face fill with anger and intrigue as he watched the blades fade into my skin. When his red gaze focused back on my face I stated, "I give you your life and I will leave with mine. We will not meet again." He looked amused at my claim, as well as something else, which I could not place. He then smirked and held up a small crystal that dangled from a silver chain. I recognized it immediately, it was mine, and it was the snapping sound from before. 'Damn' I cursed internally as I narrowed my eyes at him, "Now, shall we make a deal?" he asked me, almost seeming amused, with my pendant dangling from his hand.

After I regained my balance I charged after her intending to break her neck, but I came face to face with an angry and naked human brandishing two daggers. They stayed there gleaming, one at my throat and the other aimed at my heart. The daggers were silver with red curves and lines running along the metal of the blade and handle. The handles were cloaked in black leather, which wrapped tightly around the hilt. The dagger had an elegance, I had not seen in any blade. It was crafted in a way that the hilt and blade were one piece of metal that flowed seamlessly. At the junction between the blade and hilt there were two branches that curved towards the blade then flared out a little ways away from the tip. She held them with her palm facing up as her fingers wrapped around the branches of silver and red. She had dared to point a blade, no two blades at me. I was enraged at this fact, yet curious as to how she had come to possess them. I felt the sting of something poking into my hand as I clenched them at my sides to keep myself from lopping off her head. She started making demands of me again, but I deemed them unimportant and thought back to how I had procured this unknown object. "We will not meet again" she said to me and I vaguely remember her declaring that she had made a deal with me by sparing my life. I held up the trinket in my hand and dangled it from its broken silver chain. It was a small light blue, almost white, crystal with black thin, streaks running randomly through it. On each side there was a black metallic pyramid dangling from its triangular base. It was unique, but worthless to me, unless she needed it. I saw realization cross her features for an instant. I had her. "Now, Shall we make a deal?" I asked the naked woman in front of me, nothing in her face or stance suggested she would back down. "Here is how it will work for now, I will ask you a question and then you will answer, if you answer truthfully and the answers are to my liking, I will consider giving you something. But, remember this, I found you and am your new master, therefore you will not leave unless I say so, or I will thoroughly enjoy torturing you." She looked at me with narrowed eyes and simply nodded in agreement. "Very good, now let us begin" I said as I smiled crookedly.

They stood looking at each other, neither one moving from their spot in the room. Naraku looked at the woman in front of him and his eyes once again roamed her body and they landed on the scar that he had felt earlier. It was once a horrible wound, when it was fresh, but only a scar remained. This fact puzzled him because that was the only scar he could find upon her body. It was darker than her skin instead of a paler shiny appearance that scars usually had. The marks were jagged, long and thick, he wouldn't be surprised if the attacker had destroyed an organ or two when they ripped through her body. He knew what he wanted his first question to be, "How did you come by those scars?"

"These scars were given to me by my mother. After she murdered my father. I was ten" she said while showing no emotion in her face. She held no remorse in her soul for what happened to her parents because she knew that it would happen ever since she was able to understand language. Yet there was fear behind her eyes, fear for her future, fear that history would repeat itself again like it had so many times before. She feared that it would happen to her, that she would kill the man she loved, but it was a baseless fear. After all she never loved anyone, yet she hated no one as well. She was brought back to reality when asked another question by the Halfling with red eyes, "When did you become a slave?" she sighed and remembered the painful memory of her and her little brother being sold to two different men, each with a distant destination. She recalled her tears at the fact that she would never see her brother again and answered his question and asked one of her own, "I was almost ten and a half, also if you please could I have something to cover my indecency with?"

Naraku looked at her and realized he had simply neglected to recognize the fact that she was indeed naked and the sun had set, leaving the room cool with the lack of light. He quickly scanned the room for the sheet which she had used earlier, when he found it he picked it up and tossed it to the woman standing across from him. She picked it up and wrapped herself within its limited warmth to hide her indecency. He then asked her a simple question that was left forgotten for a time, "Who are you and what are you?" he stared at her waiting for an answer as he saw her thinking of one which was appropriate, "I am called Alina, it is my birth name. I am a mage of sorts. It is one who uses magic and magical items to channel their power. My weapons, as you saw, are a part of me, they are my power forged into a physical shape. The runes are simply a conduit." She had answered his question and then even more as she explained what the runes on her skin meant. Alina. It was a beautiful name that was foreign to him and his knowledge. He had to ask her one more question, though he knew that the answer would haunt him. "When did you lose it?" he asked Alina. She looked at him questioningly, "Your innocence, when did you lose it?" he asked again as he watched Alina, her face showed a look of disgust and sadness as she was recalling most likely horrible memories. "I was a little over eleven years old." He was right. It would haunt him and it disgusted him that one's own race could do something, which they claimed only a demon was capable of. And again he was reminded of his earlier thought, 'who is the real monster in this world?'

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A/N: Wow you find out her name after 4 chapters, by the way her name means 'beautiful', although the meaning differentiates between different name websites. Remember that this is the also the late 1400's, 12 year old girls who had already their period were married off to men much older than them.

Again I will remind you that this is a Naraku story, although I am trying to shed light on his personality (you'll see) it is still the story of the bad guy. It is supposed to sad, sick and twisted, at least as much as I can write it to be.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. What more do you want me to say?

A/N: this is more of a filler, but it is still important. Pay attention!

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Chapter 5: Names

Naraku sat in his large room in the interior of his castle thinking about what had transpired that day and what he had acquired. The woman, Alina, had made it clear that she had not been with any man for a long time in an intimate manner, but that men were the only ones brave enough to approach her. To the humans she was thought of a witch or demon due to her hair and markings on her body. No they were not markings, she called them runes, they were etched into her being by her own power. She had described them as conduits to make her power take a physical shape and use them as she wanted. Another thing she had told him was that she was from the continent, but much farther to the west than he had traveled. After all what he sought was in Japan, not on the Mainland. She had said that when she was a child her family lived near a sea to the west, she called the 'Med-it-err-ane-ian' sea. She had told him how the culture and people were vastly different from the people who were here, even the demons were not the same. She would talk of the few demons that would venture out into human lands, the dragons, sirens on the sea, or the small fairies in the woods. Yet, when he had asked her what happened to her family, she only gave a sad smile and said that they were dead. She had said that she was the last of her blood line, and all of her family's misfortune would die with her. She never did describe what misfortune had befallen upon her family, but he had time to ascertain those facts. After all, she would stay here for as long he wished her to.

_Flashback:_

After all of the information she had given me it was time to hold up my end of the deal, "What is it you desire although, I will not grant you freedom from this place. You will stay here."

"I wish for safe lodging, food and clothing. You have made it clear that your intention is my power, yet you also crave knowledge that I possess. You also understand, unlike others, that my power cannot be obtained by force. If I want, I will teach more than that jewel which you hold so dear could give. My power is special, but it comes with a price." She said to me and I knew that she was very intelligent for being a woman, also very observant. I looked to her and saw the honesty in her eyes that what she said was true, she would teach me. In time I would acquire her power and then I will cast her aside like the demons useless to me. I gazed into her violet eyes and saw that behind the honesty was a pain she was keeping hidden.

"Have we shared blood?" she asked, breaking my train of thought. I looked at the emotion on her face, it was almost one of disgust and anger, but her voice was level and calm.

I knew that we had when she had bit me in the terrifying trance of yesterday, "Yes, you had bit me while you were in a trance of some sort." I answered her not expecting her face to further contort into anger, but sadness filled her eyes. Then her face returned to her unmoving, unemotional mask and she spoke to me in a serious tone.

"I will teach you, eventually, but I will refuse to do so if you repeat things which my previous 'masters' have done. I will stay here for as long as you wish me to and all I ask in return is safety, food and clothing." With that she bowed her head to me as a sign of respect and then turned to look out at the moon hanging in the sky. "May I ask, what is your name?"

She had asked me a simple question, but that simple question meant one thing, she accepted the conditions. She would stay for however long I deemed it necessary. My face contorted into a cruel smile as I told her what she wanted to know, "Naraku."

_Flashback end. _

Naraku looked out of the window in his room and saw the blackness of night. 'Maybe I should go and look for some 'entertainment'' he thought as he donned his white baboon fur cloak and left the castle to wander the country side looking for demons to massacre or absorb.

Alina sat in her designated room wearing a simple dark red kimono sifting through the few various cloths that the albino demon had brought to her. There was a dark blue fabric, a purple with magenta petals looking as if they were falling from the sky to scatter on its surface, there was a swath of black leather that could be made into shoes and others of colored silk, wool, or sackcloth. She had asked for cloth to make her own clothes, as she was uncomfortable in kimonos as they restricted movement. She preferred clothes similar to the ones of her homeland.

She remembered the happy times that she had shared with her family, her brother and her would always play in the surf of the sea and run around in the forests surrounding the village. She remembered her mother, with pale pink skin, fair hair and green eyes; her father, who had been the one to teach her magic (sorry about the term, but this is the best word I could think of) she remembered him as a strong and powerful man who had bronze skin, black wavy hair and the eyes she had inherited. Then she remembered her little brother, lively, he always had on a large boyish smile. She missed comforting him after he had a nightmare, running her hands through his dark hair to calm him back to sleep. 'Kain' she thought as she willed the memories away and willed herself to forget because Kain was dead. She had watched the slave traders kill him herself. No matter how she wished she would never see her brother again.

Alina stood up after she was done sewing her clothes together and laid them out for her to wear at a later time. She decided she wanted to bath in order to smell like herself again and not the dirt and blood that was washed off the other day. Her hair also needed a wash, it was greasy and matted with knots from her struggles with the villagers. She looked up to see a tall youkai woman who was holding a fan with a disobedient look on her face. "What is it that you want, human" she said as she shut her fan and clasped it in her hand.

"I wish to bath, if I may. I am called Alina, what is your name wind sorceress, if I may know?" I asked the beautiful youkai woman in front of me. Just by her aura I could tell that she was connected to Naraku in some way. She was connected in a way that made her his servant, but even with Naraku's aura intertwined with hers I can tell that her soul wants to be free, like the wind.

She smirked at me, clearly amused, "I will show you the way to the bath. You are interesting though just as Naraku had said." She replied to me, but her amusement disappeared from her tone the moment she said Naraku's name. This youkai hated him with all of her soul. "My name is Kagura" that was all the response I was able to get from the youkai as she led me through the long halls and corridors of the castle. Eventually we arrived at an area designated for bathing after we had walked down a few flights of stairs.

When Kagura opened the doors a rush of steam flew from the opening. When it cleared I was stunned at the large bathing area. Inside the room was a natural hotspring nestled in the far corner. Its edge was surrounded by smooth rocks of varying sizes. In the other corner I could see a screen that was erected for changing and privacy, while next to it sat a few shelves etched into the wall. On the shelves were towels, various perfumes, oils and other liquids used for bathing. I was amazed that I was brought to such a beautiful place to bath, but I was out of place. I was essentially a slave and was meant to be treated as such, I was meant to be led to a cold stream or spring; not the private bath of the ruling youkai in this castle. It wasn't right.

"What is wrong human, I led you to an area to bath. Is this not what you wanted?" Kagura asked with an air of superiority and arrogance. She was unaware of her own weakness, it is a simple weakness that all living creatures have. It can be used against them, so long as one knows how to use it. Words have power, and names can be deadly. I still remember what my father told me, '_Alina, if you know the name of one's soul, you will hold a power over them. Therefore, never tell anyone the name of your soul. Keep it hidden forever, tell no one. Not even the one you love.'_ I sighed and looked at Kagura. I looked at her, through her and into her soul. I found what I was looking for. I found her name.

* * *

A/N: I hope this was an easier to read chapter. Bet you can't guess what Kagura's real name is though. Go ahead and try!

Well I did tell you it was an important chapter, we get a look into her past and her powers.


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